One Last Time
by Gryphon icefire 98
Summary: Just before the start of the series, Tensa Zangetsu and Ichigo's inner Hollow engage in their last sparring match for who knows how long. The winner will guide their host; the loser will have to fight to even be noticed.
1. Chapter 1

**One last time**

Draw. Strike. Block. Slash. Dodge. Counter-attack.

It's a familiar ballet.

Slash. Stab. Parry. Duck. Slash. Dodge.

He could do this dance in the dark.

Spin. Block. Slash. Stab. Parry. Slash. Slash.

He could do it with his eyes closed.

Dodge. Counter-attack. Retreat. Block. Slash.

In his sleep.

Strike. Slash. Stab. Parry. Slash. Block. Spin.

In the midst of a starless night with mist or fog further obscuring his vision.

Dash. Turn. Block. Parry. Slash. Dodge. Strike.

With all of his senses turned upside-down and backwards.

Block. Counter-attack. Slash. Slash. Slash. Dodge.

He knows this dance, as does his opponent. His foe, his rival, the one he must beat.

Stab. Strike. Parry. Slash. Dodge. Strike. Retreat.

He will not fall again.

Fall back. Block. Dodge. Strike. Parry. Slash.

He can't lose again. Not this time.

Slash. Dodge. Counter-attack. Retreat. Block. Slash.

This will be the last time they spar. Both can feel it. Each desperately wants to deviate from the pattern. Neither can. This pattern, this well-known dance, is ingrained into their bodies, their minds, their very souls.

Slice. Duck. That was a killing stroke. Run. Retreat.

Each knows what will happen, and when. Both know, down to the tiniest, most insignificant detail.

Dodge. The blows are coming faster now. Run. Slash. Parry. Block. Dodge.

This last time will be no different from the rest. The combatants know this, but still they wish for some way to change the outcome. They know that this will be the last time they ever fight together. Something will soon tear them apart.

Retreat.

The friends- altho that is not the right word, a better would be /soul mates/, very literally- have been together since their master came into being. The younger of the two is always the one who is beaten. He is of a very rare species. The elder's race is as plentiful as the creatures that the friends inhabit, though the subspecies that the elder belongs to is far rarer than any race.

Run. Dodge. Slash. Duck. Retreat.

The dance their bodies follow now is simple. Anyone can learn it. Many have learned. The younger of the two beings longs for their master to mature, so he can do as he was made to. He is lonely here, with his only companion being his exact opposite. He wants to meet more of his own kind.  
>The older of the pair is also anxious for their master to awaken. He wants their host to become strong, strong enough to be entertaining. Their host is weak now. He has no wish to get stronger. There is something missing, some keystone that must be pushed into place for the companion's fight to start. So for now, they train. They are two consciousnesses in one form, trapped inside their master's mind. In their master's inner world, their form meditates as the two sides battle for supremacy. They know enough to realize that their form, the combination of them, is closer to being two different entities than others of their kind. However, they prefer it like that. It keeps them from going mad from loneliness. They can tell that the time is coming soon. The time when their master will begin to wake.<p>

Thus this one last dance.

They wish for something to break the monotony; In their hearts they know that nothing will change. The elder has given in, resigned himself to fate, to lose his only companion. The younger, eternally defeated in their spars, decides that, since he is going to lose anyways, as the chronology foretells, and since this is their last spar as separate consciousnesses within the same form, he will try something different. Just this once.  
>The younger turns, raising his blade in a horizontal block, bracing it with his shield hand. His compatriot screeches to a halt as they both stare at each other. The elder being narrows his eyes, his liquid gold irises set on deep inky black, short white hair fluttering in the wind as he strikes with the speed of a serpent.<p>

The younger's chocolate brown eyes also narrow as all of him save his tangled, shoulder length hair manages to dodge the attack. Dark strands whirl in the wind, and the duelists pause their battle for a moment to take in the sudden change in hairstyle.

The now shorter-haired male looks up from where he was examining his unexpectedly severed hair, fingering his blade. Faster than the lightning that often plagues this inner world he strikes, scoring a small wound on the cheek of his opponent and other half.

His partner's eyes widen further, and then suddenly narrow, mouth sliding into a feral grin. The white-haired male disappears.

And reappears behind the younger of the two, wielding his sword in such a way that, had the chocolate haired boy not dodged, would have speared his heart and severed his spine in the same instant. As it was, the younger kept his life, escaping with only a shallow gash across the ribs on his left side.

"How did this happen, Tensa? You were never this good before!"

"It's simple, Shiro. I decided not to lose. After all, 'He who deviates from the pattern ensures a different outcome, be it good or bad.'"

"Heh."

Stab. Slice. Block. Attack. Dodge. Counterattack.

He's doing it. Shiro can't believe it. Tensa is pushing back against his blade, actually forcing the elder of the pair to step back to block the black katana. It is fascinating, how suddenly and completely an epiphany can change someone, but the scientist in him will have to wait. For now he must fight.

Tensa dodges a blow aimed for his midsection, and a second reaching for his neck, baiting his partner into following him. The blows are coming faster now, as Shiro regains his confidence. Too quickly. The younger spirit reached his goal, leaping back one last time to land on a flagpole. He uses the extra hight to leap straight up, rising towards the clouds that for once are not obscuring the sun. Tensa twists his body mid-air, earning himself a bolt of pain as the wound across his ribs reminds him of it's presence. He still manages to complete the maneuver however, and when his blade strikes Shiro's hasty block, sparks fly and the full power of his sword, strength, and the force of gravity bear down on the gold and black eyed boy, bringing the elder to his knees momentarily. It is just long enough for Tensa to push off and land a successful hit on his partner's left arm, the black blade biting deep.

A curse falls from the taller boy's lips as he assesses the severity of the wound.  
>From there the battle progresses, and Shiro is slowly but surely being beaten back. The length of their spar is telling, however. Both of the spirits are tiring and wounded; neither can last much longer.<p>

The elder lunges forward, the younger desperately twists his body to the side, and the white haired male's maniacal grin falters, morphing into one of shock as he finds himself overextended and vulnerable with his white blade empty of prey. In a split second the younger, dark haired male rams the hilt of his blade into his opponent's ribcage.

Gasping and trying to re-teach his lungs how to expand, the elder of the pair stumbles backwards, his footing for an instant unbalanced.

Tensa takes the chance and unleashes a flurry of blows on his momentarily defenseless and unbalanced opponent, driving back the older male as Shiro is forced to dodge most of the blows, managing to parry only a few, while he is unable to escape gaining a half-dozen shallow scrapes and slashes across his torso.

The younger spirit is moving almost too fast for the elder spirit to see, and certainly he is now moving to fast to react to; it is all Shiro can do to merely dodge killing blows as his sword clatters to the ground, the hand and arm that recently held it hanging limply as his left hand grasps the wound, futilely attempting to staunch the blood pouring from the white haired spirit's broken right arm.

In an instant Tensa's long black katana, now dripping with his opponent's blood, is at the now kneeling golden eyed male's throat.

"Do you surrender?" Tensa's voice is victorious and brimming with excitement. His opponent remains silent for a moment, his head bowed as the elder of the duo's mind races, trying to create a scenario where he would be victorious. He is unsuccessful.

Slowly, Shiro raises his head and responds in a quiet and subdued voice, although there is defiance and a promise for vengeance in his eyes. "Yes," he murmurs, "I do."

**A/N**

**So, this was my first attempt at writing a fight sequence. Would any of you mind reviewing and telling me what I did right or wrong?**


	2. Chapter 2

"This was not the outcome either of us expected." Shiro states, as Tensa flops onto the ground next to him with his legs crossed, hissing as his side twinges painfully.

"No, not at all." Tensa laughs. For once acting the age he looks, still drunk with the joy of victory. "You never expected any of that, did you?"

Shiro opens his mouth to deny the statement, just to be contrary, but then realizes it would imply that he has faith in and believed that Tensa could beat him. He closes his mouth with a snap.

In an extremely out of character act, Tensa giggles, unable to hide his amusement at seeing his friend opening and closing his mouth like a fish. The aforementioned friend, who would, incidentally, deny being friends with Tensa or ever, in a moment of what the hollow sees as weakness, saying the word, shoots his partner a glare. This just prompts the younger of the spirits to grin larger.

The older spirit's response of showing the younger his middle finger just makes the black-clad boy continue to laugh hysterically, stopping quickly as he doubles over and clutches his left side, a fresh wave of blood emerging from the wound that hadn't quite stopped bleeding yet.

Shiro curses and forces his tired, aching body off the side of the building, kicking open the window he was standing on. He disappears for all of half a minute, returning bearing bandages and the like. Tensa winces when he sees the large bottle of peroxide, causing the hollow to grin sadistically.

Tensa sticks his tongue out as the elder spirit pushes him onto his back and roughly pushes the fabric covering the wound aside, hissing in almost-sympathy. He gives no warning before splashing a good deal of peroxide over the wound, causing the younger of the pair to yelp and bite back a string of curses as the liquid bubbles and foams. After a few minutes, during which Shiro tends to Tensa's other wounds, the golden-eyed boy lays strips of the cloth bandages over the sluggishly bleeding gash, securing them with medical tape and instructing his partner to breath in deeply to ensure no ribs are broken.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asks, not really expecting an answer. Tensa groans, dramatically throwing his arm over his eyes. After a moment, however, he sits up and grins evilly.

"Your turn."

The hollow casually shrugs his shoulders, turns, and replies with a flippant: "You can try if you can catch me." Tensa raises an eyebrow, waiting. His companion grins over his shoulder, and begins walking ahead as if he wants the other to chase him. Tensa waits until the white haired boy is ten paces away, leaps, and lands squarely on the other male's back, forcing them both to the building's side. Shiro hisses as pressure is put on his wounds, and struggles against his captor, somehow hitting a latch that releases a window. The two of them hang mid-air for half a second with identical shocked faces until gravity takes over and they land in a heap of tangled arms and legs.

Tensa manages to disengage himself first, aiming a kick at his companion's head as he does so. Shiro hisses in pain, laying spread eagled on the wall. Tensa growls, heaves the white-haired spirit's limp body over his shoulder and leaps back out the window and over to where they left the medical supplies, muttering under his breath about idiots and not being appreciated enough as he does so.

He dumps his burden onto the ground, turning the glaring male over onto his back as an afterthought and shoves the handle of his katana between the elder of the duo's teeth, giving no warning before a loud _snap_ and a muffled shriek tell that Shiro's broken arm is now set into the correct shape. Tensa quickly treats the gold-eyed boy's other wounds while he gasps for breath, not waiting for his companion to recover and begin struggling.

"Tensa, you ba-"

"Shut it. If I had warned you, you would have tensed up and made it harder. Now stay _put!_"

The spirit narrows gold-on-black eyes at the younger of the pair, promising revenge as soon as he can get up, which Tensa has no intention of allowing him to do. The standoff of sorts is broken by a sudden bolt of pure adrenaline mixed with stark terror tearing through their master's body. They are thrown out of meditation, blinking open their combined form's eyes in confusion, and peer outside.

Excitement flickers through both consciousnesses. One side recognizes a member of his kind, never mind that it is weak by comparison. The other sees an opponent, his first prey, if only his master would set him free. Both find the masked creature in front of their master as a worthy first test. The question, though, is what their master will choose to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This could have been a lot longer, but I decided to split it into two parts, as I think it's more effective like this. Also, thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, and favorited this!**

**EDIT: One Last Time is officially complete, but it has a successor of sorts in my new story Continuous.**

Part 3

The spirits' master stands frozen, limbs shaking, knuckles turning white from how tightly he is grasping the baseball bat. Abruptly he charges forward, aiming to free his younger sister from the grasp of the hollow in front of him, but is only able to register a blur as the creature's hand sweeps forward, knocking him off his feet and snapping the baseball bat neatly in two. The impact winded him, as did the original blow, and blood flows sluggishly from a wound on his temple.

Tensa is worried now, and though his companion seems not to be, the zanpakuto can tell by the hollow's reiatsu that he is. Their master is not fighting back, and the attacking hollow is coming for another attack.

The black-haired shinigami slices through the hollow's arm with disturbing ease, and Tensa decides he likes her.

"'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,' right?" Shiro's voice startles him, and Tensa goes to reply, but both spirits are buffeted by a wave of horror, and their master's words.

"_This is my fault? The reason my dad's almost dead over there, the reason Karin and Yuzu are covered in blood… it's all…" _

"_Wait- I did not mean…" _The little shinigami is sent flying, and their master stands up, hands empty.

"_Hey you… You want my soul, right? Then fight me face to face! No one else has anything to do with this! Try killing me and taking my soul!"_

"_Fool!"_

The original fear coiling in the pits of their stomachs that Tensa and Shiro had been feeling when their master offered himself to the hollow has been swiftly replaced by horror as the tiny shinigami's blood paints the road scarlet. Their master's confusion and fear is palpable as the short black-clad figure slumps to the ground.

"_You… idiot…"_ The shinigami's voice is rough with pain as she reprimands their master, and Tensa's heart goes out to her. It may be the chance of a lifetime for him and his master, but he wishes it had happened without anyone getting injured.

"_Unfortunately, I am no longer able to fight the hollow… now all of us can only wait…until we become it's food…"_

_It's my fault! Everyone'll die! _ Their master's pain and guilt threatens to overwhelm him, the trembling starts again, and the human is dangerously close to tears.

"…_Do you want to save your family?"_

"_Is there a way? A way to help them? Tell me!"_

"_There is a way… no, to be exact… I should say there is only _one _way…"_ The little shinigami unsheathes her zanpakuto and holds it out in front of her, surprisingly steadily. _"You… become a shinigami!"_

Shock surges through their master's body once more as the words sink in. _"Wha… What are you saying? How can I…"_

"_You can!" _ The little shinigami's voice is steady, certain, as she speaks. _"Pierce the middle of your chest with my zanpakuto and I will give you half of my shinigami power. That way, you will attain the power of a shinigami temporarily… and will be able to fight the hollow on equal terms."_

"_Is it really okay… to do something like that?"_

"…_I do not know. Of course, this is a plan set up anticipating your high reiatsu… The percentage of success is not high… If it fails, you will die." _

A shiver of fear runs up their master's spine, hearing that if he takes the suggested route, it is more likely that he will die than it is he will be able to save his family.

"_However, there is no other way! There is no time to deliberate."_

"_Ichigo…" _Their conversation is broken by Tensa's master's sister crying in her sleep.

"_Yuzu… Are you having a scary dream?" _

"_Don't come… It's dangerous… Hurry and get away, Ichigo!"_

_**Dammit… Why are all of them worrying about me when they're about to die? **_Their master's mind is starting to calm down now, to slow and start to _think, what can I do?_ _**…Makes me, who's being scared for myself, look stupid!**_ His decision is made, and he walks forward, regaining a shred of the confidence that scattered when the hollow destroyed the baseball bat. _"Give me the sword, shinigami! Let's give your idea a try!"_

"…_It is not 'shinigami. It is 'Kuchiki Rukia'."_

"_I see… I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Let's pray this doesn't become the last greeting for the both of us."_

"_The hollow's coming… If we don't hurry…" _For the first time, a sliver of fear is apparent in the shinigami's voice, and Tensa's master hesitates as he touches the zanpakuto's hilt. Then, the hand grasps the blade firmly.

"…_Let's do it."_

"_Yes."_

The hollow screams.


	4. Author's notequestion- IMPORTANT

Hi guys, sorry it's been so long.

There's a decision to be made, and I want your input. I could merge Continuous with the last chapter of this, and continue Continuous separately with OLT complete, or I could keep it the way it is and just add on to Continuous. either way, Continuous is probably going to be less of the series through their eyes and more of snapshots.

So? What do you think?

Also, apologies for putting an autor's note as a chapter, but I don't know how else to reach the people who will give me input. This will be deleted when I update with my decision.

Thank you for your patience,

~gryphon

(Major thanks to **evanyaphoenix ( u/4220112/)** for giving me the kick I needed to regain my interest in this, by the way)


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